Hi and thank you for taking the time to reply twice, Brandy.

Yes, I agree that I should break off contact… Our communications largely consist of her sending the occasional banal text about work–we used to work in the same organization before the move to DC–or she’ll share a TikTok on every other day or so, or a Snapchat every week or so. She made it clear that we would exist as friends about 6-weeks after she returned home (after she had flown back up to attend her former organization’s Christmas party, and I was her guest):

“It’s not that I don’t miss you but things just have to be different. I don’t mind having you as a part of my life, but we broke up months ago. I know we were still close and I let lines blur sometimes, but it doesn’t change the facts; we aren’t a couple, we are friends. It’s not that I’m mad at you for how things were left last week, but it was very clear that there needs to be a definitive separation between us. I can’t go to Italy with you. I can’t do a road trip with you to move your stuff. I can’t do a weekend with you in the mountains for my birthday. You didn’t want to make the full commitment to me but you also struggle with this being just a friendship. I didn’t have the ability to put my foot down on the line between us when I was in DC, but now I can/must. I really didn’t want to talk about this. I just wanted you to take the facts and the hints and let the friendship settle where it will. But you continue to push for romantic settings, and I’m not sure how else to easily let you down. I don’t hold resentment towards you but I also don’t hold any romantic feelings for you.”

I know she’s coping with things too. She has the benefit of going to work and having family nearby, so that’s helpful for her mindset. And her son actually FaceTimed me today for the first time in months. He was at her mom’s home, so I guess he felt free to call. Only a few minutes but it was sweet to have a conversation with him.